Federer becomes No. 1 of the No. 1s; Serena draws level with Venus

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Updated 1310 GMT (2110 HKT) July 16, 2012

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Photos:Federer: No. 1 of the No. 1s

No. 1: Roger Federer – Roger Federer has surpassed Pete Sampras' record of 286 weeks at the top of the world rankings, after a two-year absence from the No. 1 spot. Federer will be hoping to cement his status as the best in the world with a gold medal at the Olympic Games in London later this month.

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Photos:Federer: No. 1 of the No. 1s

No. 2: Pete Sampras – Sampras' record had looked to be safe, but Federer's Wimbledon win -- his first grand slam title since 2010 -- equaled the American's mark of seven crowns at the All England Club and ended Novak Djokovic's 12-month reign.

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Photos:Federer: No. 1 of the No. 1s

No. 3: Ivan Lendl – In this month's final, Federer defeated Britain's world No. 4 Andy Murray -- who is coached by Ivan Lendl. The Czech never won Wimbledon in his collection of eight grand slam titles, but spent the third-highest number of weeks at No. 1, achieving a total of 270.

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Photos:Federer: No. 1 of the No. 1s

No. 4: Jimmy Connors – Jimmy Connors is fourth on the list with 268 weeks. The American is the only male to have won more than 100 singles titles, while he has also reached more grand slam quarterfinals (41) than any other player. The eight-time major champion was also the first man to spend a total of five years in the No. 1 spot.

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Photos:Federer: No. 1 of the No. 1s

No. 5: John McEnroe – Perhaps more famous now for his commercial ubiquity, John McEnroe was one of the best players of his era. Renowned for his fiery temperament and on-court rivalries with the likes of Lendl, Connors and Sweden's Bjorn Borg, the American has spent the fifth longest amount of time in the top spot with 170 weeks.

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Photos:Federer: No. 1 of the No. 1s

Leading women – By defending her Stanford title on Sunday, Serena Williams (left) equaled her older sister Venus' record of 43 WTA tournament victories, the most by any player still active on the Tour. Former world No. 1 Serena retained her ranking of fourth, achieved by winning her fifth Wimbledon title this month. She also won the doubles with Venus.

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Story highlights

Roger Federer surpasses Pete Sampras' number of weeks at world No. 1

Wimbledon champion Federer has now topped the rankings for 287 weeks in his career

Serena Williams equals Venus' total of 43 WTA Tour titles

The dominant sisters are now sixth on the all-time list of most WTA Tour wins

Roger Federer's reputation as one of the finest tennis players of all time was cemented on Monday, as the Swiss broke Pete Sampras' record for the most number of weeks at the top of the world rankings.

Federer returned to the No. 1 spot for the first time in over two years with a record-equaling seventh Wimbledon men's singles triumph, a victory which was also gave him an unparalleled 17th grand slam title.

The 30-year-old has now spent 287 weeks at the summit since turning pro in 1998, one more than 14-time grand slam winner Sampras managed between 1993 and 2000.

By comparison, Steffi Graf holds the women's record total of 377 weeks at No. 1, with Martina Navratilova second on 332.

"It is really an amazing feeling for me to have regained the No. 1 ranking," Federer said on the ATP Tour website.

"I had set a goal with my team to try to get back to the top of the rankings, but I never thought with the depth in the game this year that I would have been able to get it back so quickly.

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"I am extremely proud and honored to have beaten Pete's record as he was my childhood hero and I have always looked up to him."

Sampras, who retired in 2002, congratulated Federer on his achievement.

"Great effort. The hardest thing to do in sports is the ability to stay on top. Roger has been able to do so by great play and durability," the American said.

Behind Federer and Sampras on the list are eight-time grand slam winners Ivan Lendl (270 weeks) and Jimmy Connors (268 weeks) while John McEnroe, a winner of seven major titles, was at the top for 170 weeks.

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Federer spent a record 237 consecutive weeks at No. 1 between February 2004 and August 2008, whereas Sampras only managed 102 weeks in a row.

One record Federer is yet to claim is that of the oldest man to win a major. Andre Agassi achieved that feat by winning the 2003 Australian Open at the age of 33 years and 131 days.

In the women's game, Wimbledon champion Serena Williams equaled older sister Venus' total of 43 WTA Tour titles by beating fellow American Coco Vandeweghe in Sunday's final of the Bank of The West Classic in California.

The dominant Williams sisters now share the record for the most tournaments won by players still active.

The 30-year-old Serena has won 28 of her last 29 matches and is now joint sixth on the all-time list of WTA Tour title winners.

Photos:Men's singles Wimbledon Championship

Photos:Men's singles Wimbledon Championship

Men's singles Wimbledon Championship – Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates after defeating Andy Murray of Great Britain to win his 7th Wimbledon championship in London on Sunday, July 8. Visit CNN.com/tennis for complete coverage.

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Photos:Men's singles Wimbledon Championship

Men's singles Wimbledon Championship – Federer lies on the grass court at the All England Tennis Club upon winning match point during the men's singles final against Murray on Sunday.

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Photos:Men's singles Wimbledon Championship

Men's singles Wimbledon Championship – Murray, the first Briton to reach a men's singles final at Wimbledon in 74 years, returns a shot to Federer during the match Sunday.

Men's singles Wimbledon Championship – Murray leaves the court during a rain delay in the second set Sunday. Murray was trying to become the first British man to win the title since Fred Perry in 1936.

Women's singles Wimbledon Championship – Williams reacts during a play against Radwanska. She finished the tournament with 102 aces, three times as many as the the next closest woman player, Sabine Lisicki, who had 34.

Women's singles Wimbledon Championship – Williams serves during her final match against Radwanska.

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Photos:Photos: Women's singles Wimbledon championship

Women's singles Wimbledon Championship – Radwanska serves to Williams in the final match in the women's singles.

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Photos:Photos: Women's singles Wimbledon championship

Women's singles Wimbledon Championship – Radwanska, right, the No. 3 seed from Poland, took her place in a showpiece final for the first time in her fledgling career. Her opponent, 30-year-old Williams, also recorded a straight sets win.

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Photos:Photos: Women's singles Wimbledon championship

Women's singles Wimbledon Championship – Spectators in the royal box on Centre Court wait for the final match to begin on Saturday.

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Photos:Photos: Women's singles Wimbledon championship

Women's singles Wimbledon Championship – Radwanska rests on her chair during a break between games during the match against Williams. Radwanska won on her Grand Slam semifinal debut to become Poland's first major finalist in 75 years.

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Photos:Photos: Women's singles Wimbledon championship

Women's singles Wimbledon Championship – Williams hits a forehand return. The U.S. player is gunning for a 14th major singles titles.

Women's singles Wimbledon Championship – "This is what I dreamed of since I was a kid," Radwanska said. "Everyone wants to reach a Grand Slam final. It is the best two weeks of my career."

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Photos:Photos: Women's singles Wimbledon championship

Women's singles Wimbledon Championship – Going into Saturday's final, Williams boasted 85 aces in this year's tournament, second only to German quarterfinalist Philipp Kohlschreiber, who has 98 to his name.

"I've never felt this fit, this strong, this happy to play -- and I think I can be even better," fourth-ranked Williams told the WTA Tour's website after her 7-5 6-3 win over the 20-year-old Vandeweghe, who made it into the main draw as a lucky loser from qualifying.

"I want to sustain this momentum and build on what I did at Wimbledon. I'm going to get back on the grass now for the Olympics -- I'm not sure when I'm heading back to London, but I'll do it as soon as I can."

Williams will be looking to win her third gold medal in the British capital, after clinching the doubles title alongside Venus at the 2000 and 2008 Games.